Half of Physicians Say EHRs are Safer Than Paper, But Patients Still Wary

A little more than half of physicians — 54 percent — believe electronic health records are safer than paper medical records, according to a Practice Fusion news release.

GfK Roper conducted a survey for Practice Fusion on physicians' and patients' perceptions of EHRs. While physicians clearly favored electronic records for safety, with only 18 percent believing paper records were safer, patients' responses were more evenly divided: 39 percent believe EHRs are safer and 47 percent said paper records are safer. Twenty-eight percent of physicians had no response or did not answer.

Among the physicians who said EHRs were safer, 63 percent chose "access to records when needed" as the top benefit. Of the physicians who believe paper charts are safer, 36 percent said paper is more secure because it is less likely to be hacked or lost.